MANY ARE AWARE THAT JACKIE ROBINSON BROKE THE COLOR BARRIER IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, BUT HOW MANY KNOW THAT HE DID IT IN FLORIDA?

IN 1945, THE BROOKLYN DODGERS, SECRETLY SIGNED JACKIE ROBINSON TO THE DODGERS’ TOP FARM CLUB, THE MONTREAL ROYALS, DESPITE OPPOSITION TO BLACKS PLAYING ON THE SAME FIELDS AS WHITES, ON MARCH 17, 1946, ROBINSON PLAYED FOR THE ROYALS AGAINST THE MAJOR LEAGUE DODGERS AT DAYTONA BEACH’S CITY ISLAND BALL PARK. HE PLAYED FLAWLESSLY, DRAWING UNEXPECTED ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE LARGELY WHITE CROWD. THE NEXT YEAR, HE WAS PROMOTED TO THE DODGERS’ MAJOR LEAGUE CLUB, LED IT TO THE NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANT, AND WAS NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. HE WAS A STAR PLAYER FOR THE DODGERS FOR ELEVEN SEASONS, AND IN 1962 WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN INDUCTED INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME.

ROBINSON’S LASTING LEGACY, THOUGH, IS HIS ROLE IN BREAKING THE COLOR BARRIER, AND PAVING THE WAY FOR THE INTEGRATION OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. CITY ISLAND BALL PARK IN DAYTONA WAS RENAMED FOR JACKIE ROBINSON IN 1990, AND IN 1998, WAS LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.

Courtesy of the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources